Police say former ATF agent killed walking his dog

Smith faces charges including first-degree murder and armed robbery. (Courtesy of Prince William County Police Department)

WASHINGTON – A 25-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murdering a retired federal agent who was out walking his dog in Woodbridge, Va., Wednesday night.

Prince William County police responded to the 3700 block of Wertz Drive for a call of shots fired at about 9:40 p.m. They say Aric Alexander Smith shot and robbed Gregory Lee Holley Sr., 55, of Woodbridge, who had been walking his dog in the area when Smith approached him.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said Holley was an ATF agent in Chicago, Atlanta and Washington and was the ATF’s special agent in charge in Detroit.

Holley was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say witnesses saw a man fleeing the scene of the incident, and an off-duty police lieutenant later detained Smith on Cardinal Drive after a brief struggle. The suspect had some of Holley’s property with him, police say, and the gun used in the shooting had been reported stolen earlier this month.

Smith, also of Woodbridge, has been charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and using a firearm in commission of a felony.

He has been ordered held without bond. He is next scheduled to appear in court in June.